Vehicles, including trucks and automobiles have become increasingly more complex with the advent of engine control systems. These engine control systems can exhibit the ability to diagnose, record, monitor, control, and or optimize engine performance. In addition, some engine control systems may offer additional functionality in the form of vehicle security alarms, door locking, ignition enabling, radio control, or other vehicle command and control functionality.
Even with the advances in engine control systems it can still be difficult for anyone but a mechanic with special diagnostic equipment to obtain and view the engine performance data and or other engine control system settings. In addition, such engine control system data may only be accessible from a collision, repair or service center location and can not typically be monitored, viewed, or altered while the vehicle is in motion or in operation on the open roadway.
The inability to access and analyze engine performance data while a vehicle is in motion or in operation on an open roadway can prevent accurate engine performance analysis and or part failure prediction. Accurate part failure prediction can be characterized as the ability to predict part or system degradation or failure based on engine telemetry data and other vehicle operational data before degradation or failure of the part or system occurs.
The inability to accurately predict when engine problems may arise can cause the vehicle to become disabled while in between a point of origin and a desired destination. When a vehicle becomes disabled before reaching a desired destination the user of the vehicle and other occupants in the vehicle can find themselves stranded. Once stranded the user and occupants of the disabled vehicle may not know where or who to call for help, service, or for vehicle repairs. In addition, the inability to diagnose and repair even the simplest of vehicle problems on the side of a roadway can result in travel delays and expense in towing the vehicle to a collision, repair site or service center location where repairs to the vehicle can be effectuated.
As more and more people take to the roadways in their vehicles for travel the chance of being stranded in unfamiliar areas increases. As the chance of becoming stranded in an unfamiliar area increases the need to be able to rapidly locate auto part stores, collision centers, service centers, and emergency services can also increase.
Recently, Internet based auto part and information companies such as WRENCHHEAD.COM, PARTS.COM, CARPARTS.COM, SPORTWING.COM, CARPARTSONSALE.COM, NAPAONLINE.COM, PARTSAMERICA.COM, CSKAUTO.COM, ALLDATA.COM, MECHANICNET.COM, and others have begun providing online part locating and ordering services. These virtual online auto part web sites or portals can be convenient to visit and use from the comfort of one's own home personal computer (PC) or office PC, but can be difficult to utilize when stranded on the side of a road, or when stranded in an unfamiliar area.
Auto part stores with physical store locations such as CAR QUEST, AUTOZONE, ADVANCE AUTO PARTS, CHIEF AUTO PARTS, DISCOUNT AUTO PARTS, PEP BOYS, NAPA, MOPAR AUTO PARTS, CSK AUTO (including CHECKER AUTO PARTS, SCHUCK'S AUTO SUPPLY, and KRAGEN AUTO PARTS), and others have long maintained in-store databases where customers can look up replacement parts. Physical auto part stores can be convenient when the required parts are in stock and a person has the means and time to visit such a location. However, such locations can have little to offer and can be difficult to utilize when stranded on the side of a road, or when stranded in an unfamiliar area.
Another issue with virtual online stores and physical auto part stores can be that a customer may not be skilled in the art of vehicle repair or may not have access to pertinent vehicle information necessary for the correct selection of a replacement part. In addition, auto part stores can find themselves in the awkward position of having to dispense advice and help customers with access to limited vehicle knowledge or incomplete information.
Specific to the virtual online stores the lack of immediate access to the vehicle can prevent even the friendliest of customer service departments from aiding the customer in ascertaining a correct and accurate diagnosis of a vehicle problem or dispensing timely repair and part selection advice. In the case of physical auto part stores an employee can lack the resources or time to aid a customer in diagnosing vehicle problems. Even in a case where an online customer service department, or an employee tries to assist a customer in diagnosing a vehicle problem the lack of easily obtainable engine performance data or other vehicle operational data could prevent a correct and accurate diagnosis.
Whether a customer chooses to do business at a virtual online store or at a physical store location an incorrect or inaccurate diagnosis can lead to additional problems. Additional problems can include purchase and installation of a part that is incorrect, installation of a part that won't fix the problem, introduction of a new engine problem resultant from the use of an incorrect part, and or a dissatisfied customer's need or desire to return the incorrect part for credit or replacement.
Car manufacturers such as GM, FORD, CHRYSLER, DIAMLER-BENZ, VOLKSWAGEN, TOYOTA, MAZDA, VOLVO, BMW, MERCEDES BENZ, PORSCHE, FERRARI, JAGUAR, NISSAN, SATURN and others have from time to time supported online databases for vehicle warranty, maintenance, repair parts, and vehicle financing information. However, car manufacturers do not accept and or maintain vehicle engine control system data over the Internet. In addition, car manufacturers do not regularly data communicate with their vehicle engine control systems. As such the users, and owners of these vehicles typically do not receive timely engine control system firmware updates, engine performance updates, maintenance information, vehicle information, timely online vehicle or engine service warnings, or other timely online vehicle information or updates.
The inability of online virtual auto part web sites or portal stores, physical auto part stores, and vehicle manufacturers to monitor engine performance data can result in lost sales and lost business opportunities. Lost sales and business opportunities can occur as a result of not anticipating service needs, or accurately diagnosing engine problems. Lost business opportunities can also result from the inability to uniquely identify a vehicle and or the vehicle's owner. Such unique identification could enable targeted marketing opportunities based on immediate and future vehicle service needs.
Online virtual auto part web sites or portal stores, physical auto part stores, and vehicle manufacturers can also lose sales and business opportunities by not maximizing Internet related business opportunities. Internet related business opportunities have allowed a wide variety of traditional businesses and services that support the auto industry to move their business products and service offerings online and create virtual companies. Examples can include advertising services, maps service, hotel and motel directories, radio stations, television stations, and news organizations to name a few.
A number of deficiencies give rise to the long felt need of the present invention. Such deficiencies can include the inability to data communicate telemetry data and stored system data within a vehicle's engine control system to the Internet and or Internet based data processing resources. In addition, the inability of auto part retailers and vehicle manufacturers to dynamically tie inventory and part databases to real time vehicle telemetry and metric data can result in lost sales and lost business opportunities.
Other deficiencies can include the inability of online and physical auto part stores to augment their existing part databases, and data processing resources. Such auto part store databases and data processing resource deficiencies can include a lack of support for monitoring and evaluating vehicle engine performance data and other vehicle data, the inability to use engine performance data to aid customers in accurately diagnosing vehicle problems, and selecting correct replacement parts.
Other deficiencies can include the inability to remotely anticipate vehicle and customer service needs, and vehicle requirements based in part on vehicle telemetry and metric data. Furthermore, the inability to uniquely identify and data communicate with a specific vehicle can prevent or limit customer support and other business opportunities.